


A Reversed Happily Ever After

by fallensmiles



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Disney - All Media Types, Disney Cartoons (Classic)
Genre: Descendants - Freeform, Disney, Disney Descendants - Freeform, Evie and Gil are half siblings, F/F, F/M, Harry is in love with Uma, Jay and Carlos slowburn, M/M, Mal and Evie are girlfriends, Please read this I put a lot of work into it, Reversed AU where the royals are locked on the Isle, uwu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-01 08:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20255167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallensmiles/pseuds/fallensmiles
Summary: A reversed AU where the royals are trapped on the Isle of the Lost with no magic; Evie is a soon–to–be Queen of her kingdom, and due to a deal struck between Queen Grimhilde and Maleficent (based on the 2014 adaption), Mal agrees to be Evie’s royal bodyguard. Carlos lives with Evie due to his mother treating him horribly, and Jay is her kingdom’s best sorcerer. However, when time to become queen rolls around, Evie needs to find her King — she’s betrothed to Chad Charming, but her heart belongs to her faithful bodyguard.Not too far away in a kingdom by the sea, Ursula takes her rightful place on the underwater throne of Antlantica — and Uma takes the palace above the waters. Harry, now that his father has retired, becomes the Captain of the Jolly Roger. He sails around the world, sometimes with Gil — an explorer — but when he’s not, he’s living with Uma in her palace and no doubt trying to get her to reciprocate his feelings for her.





	1. Chapter 1

Evie awoke to an abrupt knock on the wide doors leading into her chambers, and she sat up with a jump, startled. The early morning sun illuminated the room as it slipped through the sheer curtains, and with a sudden realization of what today was, she threw her head back into her pillow with a loud groan.

Today was the day the princess was getting her new bodyguard. She had spoken with the girl a few times, though never in person, and she really had no problem with her — no, it was the terms that came with Mal that bothered her.

Queen Grimhilde had made a deal with Maleficent several years ago after Mal didn’t show any interest in taking up the role of being the new guardian of the Moors when she passes, and it was finally decided that Evie would rule over both the kingdom and the Moors, as long as Mal took up the job as her bodyguard and vowed to put her life before the princess’ at any and all times. She felt awful, taking the girl’s legacy and for potentially taking her life in the future, but apparently, the faerie was more than willing to comply. Really, having no say in it was what really upset Evie. Sure, her mother had groomed her perfectly to take on the throne, but two? Especially when one was meant for the faerie people? — How would they react to having somebody that wasn’t their own on their throne? Would she be assassinated for it? Or would they take to it kindly and respect their past leader’s wishes?

She didn’t know, and that was what scared her.

It wasn’t long until Evie entered the smaller of the two dining rooms in an elegant dress; it didn’t come out to her feet, only to her knees — a dark midnight blue that matched her hair perfectly. It fluffed out at her hips and had red lace sprinkled in with the blue at the skirt; she wore apple–red heels and matching gloves. She offered her mother a warm smile as she took the seat next to her, where her breakfast — still steaming — sat.

“Good morning, my little bird,” her mother cooed as she returned the smile, before her tone became much more hard and serious. “I’m sure you know what today is, so you need to be on your best behavior. Treat the guests with respect — regality. After all, your coronation is .. my gosh, six weeks away already! It’s best if you have your connections, birdie.”

Shortly after watching Evie pick at her food for a minute or two, her mother gathered up her skirts and exited the dining hall, leaving her daughter to sit at the bulky table on her own like she had for so many years of her life. Her mother was a great one, most of the time; she would sometimes ask her how she slept or they’d go for walks through the garden & pick flowers. — Her mother had been a good mother to her step–sister Snow White, until the grief and vanity consumed her; it was no surprise that she’d be just as kind to her own daughter, too. She’d once spent weeks working with her daughter to teach her how to properly use her magic. It was true that they descended from witches, and they had a great amount of power. Although Evie preferred working with potions, similarly to her mother, she still occasionally dabbled in other magic.

When the princess was finally finished with breakfast, she found herself in the room across from her own — Carlos De Vil’s, her best friend and across–the–hall neighbor. They had been best friends since childhood, and it was no surprise by the bruises and scars covering him that he wasn’t treated properly at home; so, after confronting her mother about it, seven year old Evie was able to get her best friend a room just across the hall.

Her knuckles rapped against the heavy door a few times before she twisted the doorknob and stepped in with a warm grin.

“Hey.” She said once spotting him, still curled up in bed beneath the covers but clearly awake. He smiled when she sat on the edge of the bed.

“You look nice,” he greeted, forcing himself to sit upright.

“Thank you. — Maleficent and her daughter are supposed to be here soon, but I was wondering if you wanted to maybe go for a walk in the garden first or something? I brought you up some breakfast, too,” she said, motioning over to the bowl of fruits she had previously placed on his night table.

“Is that even a question?” The boy inquired as he popped a grape into his mouth.  
And with that, they were off.

~

Not too far away in her kingdom by the sea, Uma stood pacing at the docks with several bodyguards behind her. Harry was supposed to be returning back to the kingdom at any time today, and she was excited — but also extremely nervous. She always was whenever he ventured off. He was a skilled pirate, no doubt about that, but the ocean was sometimes unrelenting and merciless. She’d have no way of knowing until he doesn’t return home if at some point he gets caught up in an awful storm, when it’s far too late at that point. Deep down, she feared that each time she watched him set sail; for all she knew, it would be the last time she’d ever see him.

She couldn’t imagine how long she had spaced out for, because by the time she came to, the Jolly Roger was at the docks and the crew was already stepping off of the ship. A wide grin spread to her lips as she finally saw him — or, well, his ragged coat and hook, his head bowed down as he stepped off of the ship. He lifted his head as he stepped towards her, and within a matter of seconds Uma was charging at him, arms wrapping around his neck as she lifted herself from the ground and wrapped him up in her embrace. His arms circled her waist as he caught her, stumbling back slightly. She buried her nose in the crook of his neck, inhaling the scent of salty ocean water that radiated off of him. He twirled her around a few times before lowering her back down to the ground, careful to not scrape her with his hook as he did so. His lips parted to say something flirty, no doubt, just as she took off behind him. He turned just in time to see the sea witch pull Gil into a tight embrace. Harry had picked him up on his way back from Neverland in a small kingdom, and he had traveled back with the crew on their return to Atlantica.

“Well, would you look at that,” Harry spoke as he draped an arm around Uma’s shoulders, which she tensed at for a second or two, as they began their way back to the palace — an entourage of bodyguards in tow. “We’ve /both/ come back to bother you.”

She elbowed him in the side with a soft laugh, and he couldn’t help but laugh along with her.

Back at the palace, shortly after Gil had set off to his room to nap, Uma and Harry sat in the pirate’s own room as they unpacked his belongings. It wasn’t much, certainly not enough to need help to unpack any of it, but she had missed him and would take any opportunity she could to spend with him. Albeit she didn’t like to admit it, she grew lonely when the two boys — especially Harry — were away. With no Gil around to tell her jokes so bad that they’re almost good and no Harry to flirt with her every other second, it grew boring and monotonous. She woke up every day, tended to her queenly duties, ate dinner alone in her chambers, went to bed, and did the same thing the next day and the day after that.

“So, did you miss me?” He inquired with a smug smirk, his accent thick. She snapped out of her thoughts with a scoff, shaking her head.

“Maybe in your dreams.” She retorted.

“Well, you’re not wrong.” He snickered, rising to his feet from where he sat at the edge of his bed, beginning to step towards her. “But you missed me and you know it. You can save yourself the ten minutes and just tell me that you missed me now.”

She chuckled at this as he closed the distance between them, and with a pat of his chest, she ducked away from him and headed towards the door.

“I’ll see you at dinner.” She spoke before opening the door and swiftly stepping through, pulling the door to a close without sparing a second glance behind her, leaving a frowning and seemingly defeated Harry left alone in his chambers.

~

Evie and Carlos must have spent over an hour in the garden, though it felt like only ten minutes, because it wasn’t long until a guard was sent to fetch them and bring them to the palace. Apparently, their guests had arrived early.

With an over–dramatic groan, Evie made her way back into the palace and towards the entrance, alongside Carlos with the guard leading the way. Truth be told, she had been dreading this moment for weeks now. She was basically taking another girl’s life!

Evie’s gaze traveled over everybody in the room as she entered; first Maleficent in all of her ethereal beauty, her horns long and prominent; she stood gracefully with seemingly perfect posture. Then, to her mother, who had just pulled back from her hug with the faerie, in the same elegant gown she had seen her in at breakfast.

And then to the girl behind the two queens with dark purple locks, slightly curled, that came down a few inches below her shoulders. She stood in green leather pants and a tight black tank top with a purple leather jacket over it. Not necessarily bodyguard worthy clothing, but she had to admit that she liked her careless sense of style. Her emerald eyes shone brightly in the light casted down from the chandelier, and Evie swore she was drowning in them.

Mal was the most beautiful girl the princess had ever seen, and as she caught sight of the the small but genuine smile the fae gave her, she felt her heart thump against her rib cage.


	2. Chapter 2

Evie stood in her place, silent, for a long moment. It was only the light shove on her back from Carlos that urged her forward, stumbling over her own feet a little with a bashful smile. She bowed down in a perfected curtsy in front of Maleficent, though her gaze remained locked with Mal’s.

“Good afternoon, your majesty. We humbly welcome you both into our kingdom.” She stood up just as Carlos bowed down beside her, knowing it was especially expected of him seeing as he wasn’t a royal. Once he rose to his feet, they linked arms — typically, Carlos would’ve hurried back to his room, but he knew today was a big day for Evie and that she’d need the support, so he decided to stay with her.

“Evie—“ her mother began, catching her attention. She turned towards the older woman with a polite smile, and with that, the Queen continued. “Why don’t you both show Mal around, while her mother and I . . catch up?”

Although spoken like one, Evie knew it wasn’t a question; it was an order. Still, she gave an enthusiastic nod of her head and beckoned Mal to follow her. Once out of the room, she halted at the corner and waited for the fae to step through the doors. Once doing so, the bluenette turned to close the doors behind the three teenagers, and after turning on her heel, they were off.

“The other guards will be showing you around the posts tomorrow, so for today, I just have to show you around the . . well, rest of the palace. Speaking of, we’ve reached our first place — the grand dining room.”

Evie turned the doorknob and pulled the ( rather massive ) door open, motioning for Carlos and Mal to enter and she stepped in behind them.

“We don’t use this one much. We only use it if we have guests over, or if there’s a celebration of some sorts.” That was about all she needed to say, and with that, they were exiting the room almost as quickly as they entered. Across the hall was the ballroom, and it wasn’t long before they had stepped through the doors into the large room, either. The marble floors had specks of gold throughout them, similar to the walls; on one of the larger walls was a family portrait of her mother — Queen Grimhilde, the late King, and a young Snow White that couldn’t have been any older than five or six. Evie’s gaze lingered on the painting much longer than she had intended to, and as she scanned the faces in the painting, she could feel her eyes glaze over with fresh tears that threatened to spill out any second. Grimhilde, wrapped in the King’s arms as he planted a kiss to her forehead, had her attention trained on a grinning Snow White. Although raised with grace, it seemed she had grown rather antsy with the artist painting the portrait, seeing as she was standing facing the Queen as her mother readjusted the flower in the little girl’s hair. Although this was only a painting, Evie didn’t think she had ever seen her mother so . . . happy; she had never seen her smiling that much, with a twinkle in her eye as she stared down at the little girl with nothing but adoration.

Evie knew her mother loved her, she did. But she also knew that her mother had loved Snow White long before she had loved Evie, and there was nothing she would ever do that wouldn’t be considered by her mother as Evie attempting to ‘fill Snow’s shoes’. Not once would they ever take a stroll in the garden and Grimhilde wouldn’t be reminded of how less than twenty years ago, she was walking the same path with Snow White to bring flowers to the little girl’s deceased mother’s grave. Queen Grimhilde would always be reminded of how apple pie was Snow White’s favorite dessert every time Evie would request it after dinner — not that it was Evie’s. A part of her mother would always stay locked away, out of Evie’s grasp, because of the things she had endured long before her second daughter was brought into the world. A part of her heart would remain untouchable. Evie would never be shown the same love Snow White was, because after so much death had struck her mother, she was truly afraid to love anybody for the fear of losing them. So as much as the princess knew her mother loved her, it didn’t make a difference — because she’d never be able to make her mother as happy as Snow did, because that part of her heart had been destroyed so many years ago at the loss of her husband.

She cleared her throat and turned to Mal with the best smile she could muster.

“It’s a bit outdated, I guess, but mother prefers it this way.”

With that, she turned away and swiftly exited the ballroom, not bothering to turn around and make sure the other two were following behind her. The tour around the castle took longer than she imagined it would, for the setting sun was bursting its golden rays through the windows as they made their second to last stop.

“This is where the guards sleep, eat, or hang out when they’re off duty. You’ll report back here after dinner in the grand dining hall with our mothers, and you’ll receive your formal guard attire, along with room key and . . whatever else you’ll need, I suppose.”

“Got it,” was all Mal had said. She had been fairly quiet since their second stop in the ballroom — probably afraid that, after noticing Evie’s glossed over eyes, she’d say something wrong and she’d break.

By the time the three teens made it back to the front of the castle where they entered the dining room, the first course of dinner had already been served, and the two Queens sat at the table; Grimhilde at the head, with Maleficent to the right side of her. They offered each other warm smiles and short greetings as they took their places at the table — Evie on the other side of her mother, Carlos beside Evie, and Mal across from him.

Dinner had been fairly quiet ( with friendly chatter put aside ) until the dessert had rolled out and the Queen visibly tensed beside her.

Apple tarts had been a common dessert requested by Snow, and one that she personally loved to make with Grimhilde — and were the same things sitting atop everyone’s plates.

“Mom— Your Majesty, I didn’t request these, I swear—” Evie began, just as her mother’s jaw clenched and she held her hand out to the girl to silence her.

“Excuse me,” the older woman muttered under her breath, before she rose from her chair and took off from the room. Despite the events, Carlos and the two faeries still dug in to the sweet treats. Evie watched them for a minute or two, before rising from her own chair, muttering her apologies as she swiftly exited the room. She hurried down the hallway and up one of the staircases down the hall to the third floor, where her bedroom was. Once inside, she threw herself down onto the cushion at her window, which overlooked the garden now flooded with pink roses, and beyond that — apple trees that led into the forest. Apple trees. The same ones Snow White had once picked apples from to make tarts with her mother.

Knees curled into her chest, her back to a pillow leaning up against one of the windows, the princess began to cry. The tears spilled from her eyes and she trembled, her sobs shaking her whole body with each one. Her mascara smudged her cheeks ( and her palms, more and more each time she wiped at her tears — until she eventually stopped trying to wipe them away at all ). She hadn’t even heard the door open and didn’t acknowledge the footsteps moving towards her until arms had encircled her. At first, she thought it was Carlos, until she opened her eyes and purple tendrils and horns filled her visage. She inhaled the scent of sweet strawberries that seemed to radiate off of the faerie, and as the other girl cradled her head, she sobbed even harder than she had before she walked in.

~

Uma flashed her friends warm grins as they entered the rather small, much more intimate dining room.

“I had everybody’s favorites prepared. A cheese platter for appetizers, Harry’s favorite lobster bisque for the main course with a side of salad, and for dessert,” she turned to face Gil, “I had three dozen of those chocolate pastries you love so much from the bakery in town delivered here.”

The boys looked lost for words, no doubt used to eating small amounts of whatever they could find at sea — surely not lobster bisque or dozens of pastries.

“Can we . . . just eat dessert first?” Questioned Gil with a hopeful smile, and as the three all laughed, she nodded. She made a gesture to one of the servants and they stepped towards her, where she then asked her to tell the chef to just bring out the dessert. The two boys — and Uma — gazed hungrily at the tower of chocolate pastries set before them, and within a matter of seconds, they all dug in.

Uma had insisted on aiding the servants in cleaning up dinner, and Harry had volunteered shortly after her; in fact, he had insisted that all the servants take a break while just he and the sea witch clean up. He had claimed it was just out of generosity, but she knew it was really just for him to get another opportunity to talk with her more. Seeing as they had only eaten pastries that had been brought in from the village’s bakery, it wasn’t much to clean up, and Harry was soon walking her back to her chambers ( again, he had insisted on it ).

“You don’t have to walk me back, y’know. That’s what the guards are for, and even then, I don’t need guards to walk me to /bed/.”

“I know,” he shrugged. “But I wanted to. I haven’t seen you in a long time, you can’t blame me for wanting to spend time with you.”

Her only response was a small smile, and after realizing that she wouldn’t say anything else on the matter, he hurried to pick up another subject to talk about.

“So . . uh, what’s been new with you? Did I miss anything important? — We don’t really get news at sea.”

The girl lifted her shoulders in an effortless shrug, muttering out a low, “No, nothing really.”

And she fell silent again. So did he.

When they reached her chambers, he opened the door for her, but didn’t step in. He stood at the other side of the door, a sweet smile at his lips.

“Goodnight, Uma.” And before she realized what he was doing, and before she had enough time to stick her hand out to stop him, he planted a soft peck to her cheek. With a clearly satisfied grin, he sauntered off down the hall in the direction of his own bedroom. Uma forced the best smile she could, before she closed the door and slumped down to the floor with a defeated sigh, holding her face in her hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway, here’s chapter two ! definitely not that great but i was itching to update, so.
> 
> i forgot to mention this beforehand, but as maleficent is based on the 2014 adaption, queen grimhilde is heavily based around serena valentino’s “fairest of all: a tale of the wicked queen.” when ursula’s role in the story begins to play out, she’ll also be heavily based around serena’s novelization of her, “poor unfortunate soul: a tale of the seawitch.” if you haven’t checked out any of serena’s work, you definitely should !

**Author's Note:**

> i’m sorry in advance if this is bad sksksks i wrote this at 4 in the morning and didn’t bother to check for any typos. anyway, this is the first fanfiction i’ve written in ages, and the first one i’ve written on ao3, so any feedback is welcome. 🥺 if you made it this far, thank you and congrats on surviving this hxnsns. i’ll try to update soon.
> 
> also i’m sorry for the title being so generic ! my one brain cell couldn’t come up with anything better.


End file.
